Riot of the goldsmith Demetrius - Acts Chapter 19

Paul in the City of Ephesus

1 - And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through all the upper regions, came to Ephesus; and finding there some disciples,
2 - And he saith unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost when ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not yet heard that there is a Holy Ghost.
3 - And he said unto them, Where then are ye baptized? And they said, At the baptism of John.
4 - But Paul said, Surely John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in what was to come after him, that is, in Jesus Christ.
5 - And they that heard were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 - And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
7 - And these were twelve men altogether.
8 - And he entered into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for three months, disputing and persuading them concerning the kingdom of God.
9 - But when some of them were hardened and did not obey, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he withdrew from them, and separated the disciples, disputing every day in the school of a certain tyrant.
10 - And it lasted for two years; so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
11 - And God did extraordinary wonders through the hand of Paul.
12 So that even the handkerchiefs and aprons were carried away from their bodies to the sick, and sicknesses fled from them, and the evil spirits went forth.
13 And some of the traveling Jewish exorcists tried to call on the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I confess you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.
14 - And they that did this were seven sons of Ceva, a Jew, the chief of the priests.
15 - But the evil spirit answered and said, I know Jesus, and I know Paul; but who are you?
16 - And when the man that had an evil spirit leaped in them, and took possession of them all, he was able more than they; so that, naked and wounded, they fled from that house.
17 - And this was known to all that dwelt at Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 - And many of them that believed came and confessed and published their deeds.
19 - And many of the magicians also brought their books, and burned them in the presence of all, and when they had counted the price thereof, they thought that he set fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 - Thus the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
21 - And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
22 - And when he sent to Macedonia two of his servants, Timothy and Erastus, he stayed in Asia for a time.

Riot of the goldsmith Demetrius
23 - And at that time there was a little stirring about the Way.
24 - For a certain silversmith by name Demetrius, who made silver niches of Diana, gave not a small profit to the craftsmen,
25 - And when he had gathered them together with the officials of like works, he said, Sirs, ye know well that we have this prosperity out of this office;
26 - And ye see and hear, that not only in Ephesus, but even unto almost all of Asia, has Paul persuaded and led away a great multitude, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.
27 And not only is there a danger that our profession will be discredited, but also that the very temple of the great goddess Diana will be esteemed in nothing, and the majesty of that which all Asia and the world venerate will be destroyed.
28 - And when they heard it, they were filled with wrath, and cried, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
29 - And the whole city was filled with confusion, and they all ran to the theater, and caught up with Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians, and Paul's companions in the journey.
30 - And it came to pass, when Paul wished to present himself to the people, the disciples did not allow him.
31 - And some of the chief men of Asia, who were his friends, besought him not to appear in the theater.
32 - And some cried one way, some another, because the assembly was confused; and the rest of them did not know why they had come together.
33 - And they took Alexander out of the multitude, and thrust the Jews forward; and Alexander, waving his hand, wanted to give a reason to the people.
34 - But when they knew that he was a Jew, they all raised their voices, crying out for a space of almost two hours: Great is the Diana of the Ephesians.
35 - And the scribe of the city, having appeased the multitude, said, Ephesian men, which man knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great goddess Diana, and of the image that came down from Jupiter?
36 - Now this being not able to be contradicted, it is expedient that ye should adjourn and do nothing rashly;
37 - For these men which thou hast brought here are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemous of thy goddess.
38 - But if Demetrius and the craftsmen that are with him have anything against any one, there are hearings, and there are proconsuls; that they accuse one another; 39 - And if any other thing ye require, it shall be examined in a lawful assembly.
40 - Indeed we are in danger of being accused of sedition for the present, and there is no cause with which we can justify this contest. 41 - And when he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.